State of da art...

It's been almost 5 months now since NOTIMEWARP RADIO went into hibernation. During that time, I've gotten to check out a buncha great music in places I might never had ventured. See, when the station was going, I really didn't want to listen to anything else, 'cause, why would I? Hours and hours of songs I've hand picked, of only things I like? Good thing I've got great taste in music! But, if I don't listen to anything else, how am I gonna get in any fresh blood? So, now every day is a music safari, checking out the jungle that is the internet and seeing what I can add to the party. I've done a little exploring to other stations hosted by Live365. Found a coupla good ones so far there. Native based stations like KNBA in Anchorage has turned me on to some stuff. And, god, how can you not be turned on by WWOZ in New Orleans? With the sorry state of regular terrestrial radio, community radio is one of the last bastions for fresh music. I kinda dug Pandora for a while until they decided to stick you with an ad every time you skipped over a song. I figured they could stick their ads somewhere else. True, I could always pay for the service and not hafta listen to any ads but, there's still places you can listen for free without ads. Which brings me to my Napster subscription. $15 every 3 months, in which I am given 15 song credits. I like the arrangement because I at least get some music back for my money. While they don't have everything by everybody, there's still a ton of stuff to go and check out. So, the new stuff keeps flowing in and the collection continues to expand. I need to sit down and talk about some of the stuff I've been coming across. I gotta save that for another time. It's been tough getting back to the blog lately with the cards life's been chucking at me lately. Doesn't always make you feel inspired to create something vaguely interesting for the folks to read. But, have no fear my readers... I feel a shot of inspiration coming on the horizon... Til we groove again...

Good Texan...

Alright! Another blog entry! Yeah, still pretty sparse on the entries. Still checking out new stuff, getting into other things, blah blah. Things going on not conducive to writing... But, I come forth from the darkness with another pic and another story! Being the 21st anniversary of this happening, I thought I'd relate the story of the Stevie Ray Vaughan autographed dollar bill, as mostly already written on my Flickr page. Yeah, cheap way out... big deal! Still worth commemorating for me...
In October of 1989, 2 days after I saw the Rolling Stones in L.A., I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan at the Arizona State Fair, the fourth and final time I would see him in concert. After the show, I hung out behind the stadium with about, maybe 30 other people, hoping to maybe wave and give a thumbs up as he left in his limo or whatever. After about an hour, most people had given up and the crowd thinned to about 10 of us, tops. A security guard came out and asked us "So you guys hanging out for autographs and shit?" Well, yeah... So he goes "Well let me see if he feels like coming out" Sure enough, he came out, signed autographs, posed for pictures, etc. All I had for him to sign was a dollar bill. So, I stuck it out for him to sign and he just kinda looked at me for a second. I told him "that's all I've got for you to sign". And sign he did. I asked him a coupla questions about the album he and his brother Jimmie were planning on doing ("Family Style") and then contently watched him graciously grant each fan request. Then he was gone.

Bold as love...

Welcome to the on again, off again blog. Yeah, I know I said I'd try and do one a week to go with the pictures I'd be taking. So, it hasn't worked out like that yet. Sue me. Actually, I've been into my other boxes lately. I've been getting into my outdoor photography. Had a nice little shoot on Labor Day (my first full day as a 47 year old), going down a major street here in town, from north to south. That'll be an ongoing project as well. Music wise, I've been checking out different stuff, some of which I've written about here. A lotta dub, blues, hot rod rock, Americana-ish stuff. I'm still investigating so there hasn't been much to report on there. Mostly still grooving on the same bands I have been for the better part of the year. That, coupled with a bit of writer's block, kinda put the blog thing in idle. I didn't really wanna be book book book either. So, what do ya think I'm writing about today? Yeah! Another book! This is another great book, especially if you're a Hendrix nut. "Jimi Hendrix Sessions" is written by John McDermott with help from Billy Cox and Eddie Kramer. Being mainly about all of Hendrix' recording sessions, what better contributor than engineer extraordinaire Kramer, the man that brought a lotta those crazy ideas to fruition. The book covers sessions from 1963 all the way until his death on September 18, 1970. It draws as many facts about every session as possible with lots of quotes and pictures to boot. It's great hearing how songs start as these ideas and jams into the finished track, by the people who were actually involved in the process. If you dig Hendrix, you really should check this book out.

Soul to Soul

20 years ago today, the world lost one of the greatest guitar players to ever grace the planet. Stevie Ray Vaughan passed away after a show at Alpine Valley, WI, playing along side his brother Jimmie, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, and Eric Clapton. Soul to Soul is the "official" Stevie Ray Vaughan biography. Author Keri Leigh met Stevie in 1986 and had interviewed him several times and became good friends. In May of 1990, they discussed the idea of doing this book. She requested no money and gave Stevie complete artistic control of the project. After his death, she shelved the project in her grief, coming back to it a couple of years later, publishing in 1993. Many people helped contribute to the project (forward by B.B. King). The book is filled with pictures marking influences and all periods of Stevie's life. Of the books released after his passing, this one stands at the top.

Really? You got one too?

Wassapening, everyone (anyone?)! Time for some more words of wisdom. Or somethin'... Back on Halloween 1982, I sat at my girlfriend's apartment, mildly pissed off. The Who were 150 miles up the highway in Phoenix that night and I was not. As a consolation of sorts, there was a Clash concert being broadcast that night. I already had "Combat Rock" and the 'Train in Vain' ('London Calling' flip side) 45. Seeing as how the crowd I hung with was long haired hippie Rock before it became classic, I regulated myself to "closet" Clash fan. So, I recorded the concert on my girlfriend's sister's stereo and thus became the owner of a live Clash tape. This show, according to the announcers, was being broadcast "live from St. Louis". If I only knew...

As the 80's rolled by, this tape saw a LOT of play. It turned me into a fairly big Clash fan. I would acquire whatever albums I was missing, became a HUGE fan of Mick Jones' Big Audio Dynamite, collected various books and articles and pictures and the stuff fans usually acquire. I also got pumped a few boots and out take tapes from a friend that worked at a local record store. Then came the MTV Clash "Rockumentary". It was the usual history of the band with various interview bits and concert footage, what have you. Then, they started talking about the Clash's famous stint at Bond's in New York City. This was big stuff. Stopping traffic in Times Square isn't something usually done by masses of pedestrians without the aid of a traffic light. You got a feel listening to what was being said, these were very significant shows for the band.

So, time goes on and various interviews and videos drift by and, same thing; every time it gets to the Bond's part, queue the dramatic music, slow motion video (the Clash always looked cool no matter what speed you ran 'em), and watch the excitement build. I'm starting to feel, this footage, any audio, from these concerts is the Holy Grail for any self respecting Clash fan. Out comes more media, including the superb DVD "Westway to the World" from Don Letts. Same set up for the Bond's shows. Even better, a whole disc (!) called "Clash on Broadway". Alas, not an entire show but video none the less. It's pointed out that "this is all that's left". From other sources, a lotta the film had been lost. Still, Bond's footage!

Flash forward to this past weekend... Tim over at the Clash Blog (see previous post) came up with the great idea of everyone who reads his blog and is on Facebook, to change their status on Saturday to commemorate what would've been Joe Strummer's 58th birthday. I elected to pull videos offa youtube all day and post those. Tim was posting some videos as well and posted a mp3 video of a song from the Bond's shows. Cool! I looked at the poster of the video's page and he had an entire show! Yeah! Let us all drop down and give tanks and praises! So, I decide to do a little research on the show he's got up and find my self on a magnificent Clash site, Black Market Clash. Amongst the tons of info on the Bond's concerts, is the various boots from the concerts that have come out. One of them is entitled "Trick or Treat", culled from a professional recording done on the June 9th show, which was edited down and aired (minus 6 songs) by some FM stations across the country on, you got it, October 31, 1982. The Holy Grail has been in my hands for almost 30 years! Turns out, this is also a very popular Clash bootleg (and there are several other variations out there too). And that's not all! The video that you see from Bond's is also from this show. AND, some of the songs are also on the "From Here to Eternity" CD! So... so much for rare and hard to find! But, in my defense, the announcers at the time DID say "Live from St. Louis". I had no reason to think otherwise. Even as I would hear these songs in other places, mixes were different, and I had no reason to put the two together. Bands play songs similar alla the time.

So, in a way, I kinda feel like a goofball, not knowing what I had all these years. At the same time, how hip is that to be listening to one of the famed Bond's shows for the last 28 years?

'Til we groove again...

Ghost town

I guess the best way to keep people coming in to read my blog is to write more often than every ten days or so. I still have more pics of books to post and to write about but I think the book thing needed a little break. I haven't gotten a chance to take anymore pics of more cool stuff so, that left me pondering what to write about. I'm still groovin' on the same bands (Los Lobos, Jimmie Vaughan, ZZ Top, Stones, etc.) and I've written plenty on them for the time being (even though JV will be in town 3 days after my birthday...). Well, inspiration hit me by the way of Facebook. One of my friends writes a great blog on the Clash (The Clash Blog) and he posted a video he put together of a Joe Strummer song. While the images flashed by me, suddenly there was the line about the Skatalites. Hey! Let's check that out! Well, it's some great stuff and that's what I'm gonna write about.

The Skatalites were formed in Jamaica (where else?) in 1964, bringing together the best musicians around and working in the studios of Kingston, as well as performing live and backing the heavyweight vocalists there at the time. Many of the original and future band members attended The Alpha Cottage School, which was run by Roman Catholic nuns. "It was a good school. If you had ambition you could learn a trade: printer, carpenter, bookbinder, tailor, shoemaker, electrician," recalls Lester Sterling. "You also could choose your instrument and tell the band leader... trumpet, sax, drum. Sometimes the bandleader would put you on the instrument he needed. Ruben Delgado was our teacher for band. A good teacher, he had studied in England and been in the military band." When fellow future band member Dizzy Moore heard a friend playing music he asked where he learned. The boy said, "Alpha, but you have to be bad to go there." Dizzy replied, "That's easy, man." Two years later, Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore was a pupil at Alpha; his folks glad to be straightening him out, Dizzy just happy to play music. Recording back then usually consisted of the band on one track and the vocalist on the other. This helped produced the tight groove the band would develop. The group played their last gig in August 1965, splitting into two groups after that. They reformed with their core members in 1983, backing Bunny Wailer in 1989 on his Liberation Tour featuring 7 original members.

Now I'm just discovering these guys and have a lot more to dig into. Like a lotta folks my age, I got introduced to Ska with the Specials. They not only were a hot band but made you realize how much music you listened to in the past was really Ska. So, I'm gonna check out some more Skatalites and other bands that came out of that movement (gotta expand those horizons!) and if you dig Ska or Reggae, this is a cool place to check out. 'Til we groove again...

(Quotes courtesy of the Skatalites official website)

TEXAS RHYTHM TEXAS RHYME

TEXAS RHYTHM TEXAS RHYME

Yo y'all! Time to write again! I got the new Los Lobos CD ("Tin Can Trust") in the mail today. I've been hearing a track here and there, also the entire CD on NPR (a site well worth checking out). But, I'm not gonna do a review here, although you should give it a listen. Nope, nor am I gonna talk about the new Jimmie Vaughan CD, since I've already kinda done that. But I am gonna stay in Texas for a fine book I picked up years ago, called "Texas Rhythm, Texas Rhyme".

This book is a pictorial history of Texas music (as it sez right there on da cover). There is quite a bit o' text in there too. What's so cool is alla the music they cover. It starts out talking about the 19th century music and the early Country stuff, people like Scott Joplin, Lefty Frizzell, Ernest Tubb, Woody Guthrie, Jim Reeves, and Ray Price. It then heads off into the singing cowboy types (Gene Autry, Tex Ritter), before hitting Country Blues. Mance Lipscomb, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Leadbelly, Big Mama Thorton, Lightnin' Hopkins. Skipping ahead, there's a chapter on Rhythm and Blues. This is where we see T-Bone Walker, Charlie Christian, Albert Collins, Gatemouth Brown, and Lowell Fulson, among others. This book clearly doesn't mess around. Freddie King, Clifton Chenier, the Vaughan Brothers, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Janis Joplin, Edgar and Johnny Winter, ZZ Top, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Waylon, Willie, Stephen Stills, Boz Scaggs, Steve Miller, Kristofferson, the Austin scene in the 70's (some of which mentioned earlier), and lots of others I've left out! It's only a 159 page book! If you wanna get a taste of the Texas flavor and where it came from, this is a great place to start.
'Til we groove again...

Sent by angels...

ARC ANGELS PROMO

Another promo pic dug out of the archives, a 1992 photo of the Arc Angels. Formed in Austin, TX, the Arc Angels were a joining of the forces being guitar heavy weights Charlie Sexton and Doyle Bramhall II along with drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon (the rhythm section of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble). The group came together at the Austin Rehearsal Center (ARC) while Sexton had been working on his next solo album. Layton also had a drum room there where he would often practice. The initial idea had been to create a band that can jam when people happened to be in town or when Layton and Shannon were not on tour with Stevie. After Stevie's passing, the band became more of an musical outlet. But they soon found they dug the idea of being in a band together, as Sexton and Bramhall put aside their solo projects and started writing specifically for the Arc Angels.

For more info on the Arc Angels, check 'em out here http://www.myspace.com/arcangelsmusic#ixzz0uM6tm4Tc

'Til we groove again...

Whadda you looking at?

When you think of New York cool, you automatically think of Lou Reed. Here's a promo photo I found of Lou from 1991. This is probably my favorite time period from Reed. 1989 saw the release of his "New York" album, with great tunes like 'Last Great American Whale', 'Dirty Blvd.', 'Strawman', and 'Hold On'. It certainly received a bit more commercial attention than he'd seen in a while and it was well deserved. Some of it is a bit dated, however, as Lou usually has his finger (which one?) on the pulse of what's going on, especially in his own back yard. Some of the names may seem unfamiliar now, 20 years later. That's what we have Google for now, huh?

1990 saw Reed team up with "old pal" John Cale for a tribute to Andy Warhol titled "Songs for Drella". The songs move their way through Warhol's life, telling the story from Andy's point of view, as if he's actually telling the story. Great moments include 'Trouble With The Classicists', 'Starlight', 'A Dream', and 'Forever Changed'. A video was also released with Reed and Cale performing the songs "live" in the studio.

1992 came the knockout punch (for me anyways) with "Magic and Loss". Written about a couple friends who eventually died of cancer, it's some heavy stuff at times without being dreary and depressing. Not exactly a collection of snappy pop tunes (how morbid!) but some real deep and powerful stuff on this record. Favorites here include 'Power And Glory', 'Cremation', 'Gassed And Stoked', and 'Magic and Loss'.

A coupla books also sprang forth during this time period. "Lou Reed - Growing Up in Public", a biography written by Peter Doggett, editor of "Record Collector" magazine. Also, in 1992, "Between Thought and Expression", selected lyrics of Lou Reed by Lou Reed, with a coupla interviews thrown in too. There were a handful of poetry readings thrown in here and there also, along with a few short tours and, not to mention some get togethers with the Velvet Underground as well. Busy time for Mr. Reed. Lotsa cool stuff well worth checking out! 'Til we groove again...

Playin' the Blues for You...

For my first blog sans radio station, I return to an artist I previously wrote about: the great Jimmie Vaughan. Today he lays forth his latest studio release "Plays Blues, Ballads, & Favorites". I've got on the 'phones and am checking it out as I type. No track by track review, just thoughts. This album is his first solo record in 9 years and is largely a tip o' the hat to the music and artists that have grooved him over the years. With the exception of the boogie instrumental 'Comin' & Goin'', this is a selection of covers ranging from artists like Willie Nelson, Little Richard, Jimmy Reed, Roy Milton, Roscoe Gordon and others. In an interview with the Illinois Entertainer, Vaughan talks about the new recording. “There’s a couple of studios in town that I like,” he says, revealing the plot. “I got them to call me when somebody cancels on ‘em, [so] I go in and I start recording as if I’m making singles. That’s my latest trip. I’ll get a couple songs, go in and cut ‘em, fool around with them for the next couple days, and then that’s it – on to something else. That’s what I did on this record. I just want to have fun. My music has totally always been selfish and I’ve always played what I wanted to play. I figure, if I don’t like it I can’t expect anybody else to. I’m just trying to play what I want to hear. A guy told me that once. He said, ‘Just play what you want to hear.’ I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’” From what I'm hearing through da 'phones, this is one groovin' record. I've got some Napster credits to use but I think I want to hold the package (so to speak) and pick this sucker up later this week. That's all for now! 'Til we groove again...

Thank you and Goodnight (for now)...

After 6 years of playing DJ on the internet, the time comes to put it down for a while. NOTIMEWARP RADIO is now VIP only; basically it's a 1500 mb mp3 player packed with music I like. As I've outlined earlier, I will now focus on scanning and taking pictures of groovy stuff and writing about it. In doing that, I hope to build a cool little coupla sites for music lovers to come by and enjoy the sights and maybe learn a thing or two. I'll still write about stuff going on in music as I have in the past, artists that aired on the station, etc.

So, I'd like to thank everyone who's listened to the station and hope that you will continue to check out and enjoy the blog and the flickr site. Onward to the next chapter....

Gooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaals...............

Sorry. Nothing to do with the World Cup, although I did dig the U2 backed commercials on ESPN. I thought with the hiatus of the station coming up, it'd be a good time to make some goals. First, NOTIMEWARP RADIO is currently ranked at #1052 on Live365. Rankings are based on total listening hours in the past 30 days. In the remaining 3 weeks, I'd like to see it crack the top 1000 stations. It's been about 5 years since the station last tasted the top 1000, and that was as Album Rock Classix, a sorta anti-Classic Rock, Classic Rock station. There were too many songs and styles I wanted to hear so I made the station into NOTIMEWARP RADIO and pretty much destroyed the listener base I had, but had a really cool sounding station though. But, now that I'm finding the right mix of songs to get more people to hang out, I've got to put it down for a while. So, listen as much as you can in the next few weeks and let's crack that top 1000!

For my next trick, I'd like to post a picture a week to Flickr, with accompanying blog entry here. Once I really get started taking pictures, it'll probably be pretty easy. I'm still doing last minute stuff for the station to give it the proper send off for it's journey into shuffleville. The project might start a bit sluggish but should pick up nicely.

Stay tuned to see how it goes! Til we groove again....

Can't quit it, baby...

...so I gotta put it down for a while. Financial issues will force me to place NOTIMEWARP RADIO into VIP only mode at the end of June. Only people with Live365 VIP memberships (about $8 a month) will be able to listen. I won't be able to update any of the music after then either. I plan on using from now until then, putting in some fresh tunes and maxing out the storage space they allow me for my tunes. Probably around 50-60 hours of music running on shuffle, like a giant ipod. The blog will stay, as will the Flickr page. I do plan on reopening the station in the future (geez, I've been doing this 6 years now) so I might as well keep some of the NOTIMEWARP network up and running. I hope people continue to check out the pages and hopefully the tunes too. I got some pretty cool stuff to unleash on all y'all groovy peeps! 'Til we groove again.... www.notimewarp.com

Outta Exile...

Today's the day the re release of the Stones classic "Exile on Main Street" comes out. I'm checking out the extra tracks as I type and here's a blow by blow;

'Pass the Wine' - vaguely similar rhythm to War's 'Spill the Wine' but that's where the comparisons ends. Great soulful groove. Gotta play this one for the peoples...

'Plundered My Soul' - The groove here really reminds me of 'Tumbling Dice' but this is a bit slower and (there's that word again) more soulful; kinda R & B style. Already playing this on the station.

'I'm Not Signifying' - Nice, slower struttin', blues boogie number. Starts off with just Mick and some piano and works it's way up into some harp and horns at the very end.

'Following the River' - Slow number in the 'Let it Loose' style groove'

'Dancing in the Light' - Good song. Real deep, huh?

'So Divine' - Interesting melodic guitar line running through it. Reminds me of the Brian Jones stuff.

'Loving Cup'(alternate take) - Slower than the final version. Kinda like a stroll through, before they let it loose, as it were...

'Title 5' - Kinda sounds like surf music. You'd never believe it was the Stones.

Also included are little interview snippets of the band (including Bill Wyman) talking about the record. Altogether good stuff, I'd say. There's about 3 or 4 different versions of this you can buy, including the super deluxe version that comes with a 30 minute DVD that's culled from 3 other kinda hard to find movies. I'm nabbing the bonus tracks with some Napster credits. The DVD, dunno 'bout that one yet. Sounds pretty cool, though... 'Til we groove a-gin...

Record Store Day 2010: The score!

Just returned from one of my friendly local record stores with a fairly good stash o' vinyl. Armed with a list of things of interest, I was surprised to find most of my 'priority' items. In no particular order... "Streetcore" - Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, vinyl copy with code to download mp3 version for free. "Live at Clark University" - Jimi Hendrix Experience. An official 'bootleg' release by Dagger Records, the private issue label established by Experience Hendrix. It's actually a 5 song EP, recorded 3/15/68 in Worcester, MA. "Live at Hollywood High" - Elvis Costello & the Attractions. These are 3 additional songs from the 6/4/78 performance (about a week after I saw them in AZ, which was also my very first concert). There were 3 songs released from this show as a bonus 45 that came with the "Armed Forces" LP. Why they didn't call this 'part II' is beyond me. I got my copy of the original release on a 12" promo from the radio station I was working at. Those songs are now added to the "Armed Forces" CD. Today's release is also numbered, I guess making it a collector's item in 2050... 'Plundered My Soul" / "All Down the Line" - Rolling Stones. This will also be part of the 'Exile on Main Street' CD reissue. One thing that struck me as sorta funny when I got home, is I realised I just paid $7 for a single, $8 for a 3 song single, and $11 for a 5 song EP. Must be getting old... 'Til we groove again... www.notimewarp.com

Drop the needle down!

Dig it! Tomorrow is Record Store Day around the country. It's time to go out and show your support for your local record store by taking advantage of sales and special releases on this here day only! Artists putting out some new and special goodies include Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Devo, White Stripes, Joe Strummer, Neil Young, Beastie Boys, Elvis Costello, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, and lots more! So get your lists together, find out what stores are in, and get in the groove! www.notimewarp.com

The return of The Wall

Wow! Two posts in two days! He must be on crack! No, not this time. Suddenly there's lots of activity out there to write about. The latest is Roger Waters taking "The Wall" out on a large 31 day North American tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of "The Wall" release, for lots of people to enjoy. The tour kicks off in Toronto on 9/15 and includes 2 nights in Chicago, 3 separate stops in the NYC area, DC, Montreal, 2 nights in Philly, and 2 separate stops in the L.A. area (who booked this thing anyways?). Also included are smaller cities as Pittsburgh, Hartford, Columbus (OH), Omaha (!), Fort Lauderdale, and Tacoma (WA). It's also making a Phoenix stop on 11/27. Might be another blog entry on the horizon... I never saw Waters in concert before. I did see Floyd's '89 tour (on consecutive nights) here in Phoenix. I never really got into the whole Waters vs. Gilmour debate thing. Apples and oranges, ya know? I woulda killed to see Waters with Clapton though...

Starting a commotion..

Alright! It's here! The newest Jeff Beck CD, "Emotion & Commotion"! I got to hear a little bit offa it on the NPR website (pretty hip place for music). It's finally a departure from the techno sound of Beck's last few studio albums (which I like quite a bit). Again, he stretches in a variety of directions, including some strings and even covering a standard (even with the title, it still hits you by surprise). During the first week of it's release, you can get a 30 minute interview with Mr. B. talking with Alice Cooper by purchasing the CD from itunes (snippet here). Then there's a today only special on amazon to purchase on mp3 for only $4.99. Whicha way do ya go? Dunno... I got an itunes credit so I may spend the extra dough and cash in some chips to get the interview.

I got some "me time" coming up here which'll give me an opportunity to listen to a lotta music, including "Emotion & Commotion". And as I'm working on a third playlist, it's gonna be just completely packed with stuff never before played on NOTIMEWARP RADIO. So, if you wanna get down with some stuff you haven't heard in ages or not at all, NOTIMEWARP RADIO is the place to be!

'til we groove again... www.notimewarp.com

Classic Style

Waassup? Not too much too report from the music world. Ok, the new Jeff Beck CD comes out on the 13th. And Record Store Day is the 17th. There's a couple future blogs... Me, I've been taking pictures. Of? Cactus, desert Squirrels, muscle cars, hot rods, Cadillacs, ocotillos, cardinals, light rail trains... a small variety of stuff. Twice a year, they have "Crusin' on Central". Lotsa old cars and such with lotsa people strolling around to look and talk cars. Of course, there was 50's and 60's music being pumped out to the crowd. Seeing all those old cars made me wanna hear some good old hot rod music from people like Link Wray and Duane Eddy.

Speaking of music, there's two long playlists rotating through the week now on the station. I'm working on a third that'll be comprised of mostly stuff never before played on NOTIMEWARP RADIO. That's gonna be cool. 'Til next time... www.notimewarp.com

Have you seen this man?

Well, you should. It's been a while since we heard from Mr. Jimmie Vaughan. After 2001's "Do You Get the Blues", Jimmie was sparsely heard from. A 'Best of' CD here, a couple guitar and/or car show appearances there... He has tended to his late brother Stevie's business affairs since his passing, which in itself is a full time job, I would imagine. But there's good news for all you JV fans out there! According to his website, there's a new album coming this spring as well as a tour! He's got some dates coming up starting April 8 in Satellite Beach, FL and continuing on the east coast through May (with some Texas dates thrown in as well). June takes him to France for a week of European dates before jumpin' back to the States for some shows, including Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival in Chicago on the 26th. Then it's back to Europe for most of July. There's a buncha holes in those American dates so, if your town's not on the schedule now, there's a chance it could be added later. For those not hip to Jimmie Vaughan, he played with the Fabulous Thunderbirds for most of the 80's before leaving to do "Family Style" with his brother Stevie. After Stevie's death, Jimmie eventually went on to put out a few solo albums, as well as appearing on an assortment of other people's records. It's been quite a while since he's been out there in full force so, this will be some cool stuff to look forward to. www.notimewarp.com

Sparks will fly

Wow! What a great show at the Ikeda Theater in Mesa (Phoenix) last night! The Experience Hendrix 2010 tour rolled through and I was certainly not disappointed! High points included Living Colour's tear through "Crosstown Traffic", Doyle Bramhall II with David Hidalgo on "Who Knows", the first real magical moment of the night with Jonny Lang and Brad Whitford blowing through "Fire", Kenny Wayne Shepherd on "Voodoo Chile/Child", David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas' almost punk-like version of "Can You See Me", then joined by Hubert Sumlin for "Killing Floor" (didn't really move the guitar hero worshippers but the people with soul certainly got it), and an incredibly ripping version of "Foxey Lady" with Joe Satriani backed by Living Colour (Satch and Vernon Reid trading solos?!?!). The show clocked in at a solid 3 hours (no intermission) and pretty much gave everyone their money's worth. www.notimewarp.com

One time, one night...

OK, two times. Checked out the Los Lobos shows at the Compound Grill in Phoenix this past Saturday. Wow! What a great coupla shows! I thought the first show was the best LL show I've ever seen. Just the continual round houses starting with Dream in Blue, into Down by the River, Are You Experienced, and Kiko and the Lavender Moon... After the first show, they came out to sign autographs, hawk cd's, talk with fans, etc. Didn't get to chat with the whole band like the last time they were in these parts. I planned on catching them after the 2nd show but they didn't look like they were leaving anytime soon and I didn't want to start asking for autographs when I really wasn't supposed to be in the backstage area anyway (I peeked in to say good night to a long time friend of the band I met through their fan forum "The Neighborhood"). I'm really not a big fan of club shows (I hate being around drunks) but this was such a cool gig. GA seating and I walked right in and sat in the 2nd row. Off just to the left of the stage was an elevated table area where Cesar Rosas and Louie Perez were hanging out. Both were ambushed for autographs from a couple of guys who both brought their 'How Will the Wolf Survive' albums and they graciously signed them. Can't wait for 'em to come back! David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas are coming back to Phoenix on March 7 as part of the 'Experience Hendrix' tour. I got my ticket yesterday (amazing since I tried to buy one 3 weeks ago and was told it was sold out). They'll be part of a ridiculously great line up that includes Billy Cox, Joe Satriani, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Chris Layton, and Doyle Bramhall II. I have a feelin' this is gonna be sumpin' special. www.notimewarp.com

From the vaults...

...comes a newly released tune from Jimi Hendrix, called "Valleys of Neptune". Jimi started toying with the tune in the summer of 1969. He started working on it at the Hit Factory in NYC in September. He was certainly aware of the tune's potential and recorded a good number of unreleased versions of it over the next 9 months. Despite the effort, he never put together a master take to his satisfaction. As Billy Cox tells it (from "Jimi Hendrix: Sessions") "I loved that song. Jimi spent a lot of time at his apartment trying to tighten it up. He kept adding to his original idea. We almost completed that song at Electric Lady, and if we had, it would have been a monster." You can hear "Valleys of Neptune" on NOTIMEWARP RADIO. The rest of the CD (by the same title) will be released March 9.

In other news, I checked out the Jesse Ed Davis stuff and found a couple tunes that'll fit right into to the NOTIMEWARP groove. It sounded a lot like a combination of many of the people he played with. His singing voice (much maligned for some reason) sounded like a cross between Leon Russell and a smoother voiced Dr John. Good stuff... Lucky me! I get to check out Los Lobos live this weekend, for the first time in 3 years! Can't wait. Rumour has it they've started working on their next record. That's all fer now! www.notimewarp.com

Keeping myself amused...

Howdy! Time to dust off the ol' blog in case somebody comes by to read it! I've been busy adding new stuff and moving out the stale. Gotta stay on top of these playlists or the updating really gets outta hand. Over the past weekend, I've added over 100 songs and fixed up the weekend playlist with only the most recently added stuff. Included in that are 'Mountain Jam' from the Allman Brothers "Fillmore East" (clocking in at 33+ minutes) and 'Autobahn' from Kraftwerk (20+ minutes). I chased down some stuff from Stevie Wonder and Donald Fagen to be added for airplay. I've also got some stuff on my Napster playlist from Jesse Ed Davis to check out. Jesse was a great guitarist of Kiowa decent who played on many great albums during the 60's and 70's. You can find him on albums by John Lennon, Albert King, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, John Trudell, John Lee Hooker, as well as a handful of solo records. In native circles, he was called 'the Indian Eric Clapton'. I'll be giving that stuff a listen soon and get some tracks on the station. That's all for now. Talk to you (myself?) all soon and keep listening! www.notimewarp.com

More tales from Tumbleweed City

Greetings and Happy New Year everybody! Once again, been a long time since I last posted an entry to the ol' blog. I gots too many hobbies! Try as I might to center them around the music, they do tend to scatter themselves around in every damn direction... But, I guess it is all going alright. Seems as though every new song I add is brand new to the station, with some being brand new themselves. Like 'Cure for Love' from the new David Hidalgo & Louie Perez (Los Lobos, Latin Playboys) CD "The Long Goodbye". They made this available as a download before it's official release this week and I jumped on that day one. Of course, I didn't get around to adding the song until today. That goes back to the hobby overload thingy. Dave & Louie have been performing sporadic dates with David's sons. There's supposed to be a new Latin Playboys album on the way and also the start of writing/recording of the next Los Lobos record. More new stuff, yea! It's been a couple years since they passed through here, although David and Cesar Rosas will be passing through in March as part of the Experience Hendrix tour. That was already sold out the day I heard about it. Joe Satriani, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Dave & Cesar... are you kidding? Well, the safari for new music continues. Be sure to tune in to hear what's been captured and prepared for your listening enjoyment! www.notimewarp.com